Ready, Aim, Fire
by The Bloody Countess
Summary: Maybe in her eyes he will always be just a boy. But he is determined to become stronger than he is now to fight for her dreams; for a yet unseen future she wants to create. (1xR one-shots)
1. Ready, Aim, Fire

**Disclaimer: **As usual, I own only this fic.

**Summary: **_Maybe in her eyes he will always be just a boy. But he is determined to become stronger than he is now to fight for her dreams; for a yet unseen future she wants to create._

**Notes: **This is from a fanmix I was making, which I suddenly decided to turn into a series of one-shots. Hopefully, I've pulled it off.

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**Ready, Aim, Fire**

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It takes the world going to Hell for Operation Meteor to commence.

The chess game has begun, and the players on the board are like vicious dogs circling each other, waiting for the other to strike. The soldiers sent to end the madness are the most unlikely set anyone has ever met. Barely even young men with eyes that have all seen too much and shoulders too small to bear the heavy burden of ending the brutality.

They go into battle willingly, idealistic and perhaps a tad reckless, but they strike fear in all who encounter them on the battlefield.

Their silent leader is a boy who embodies perfection. He swears an oath that he will die before his mission gets compromised.

And then he meets her.

She is the girl who changes everything.

On her shoulders rests a future that he feels he is set apart from but would die to see take shape. In her hands is his heart that he doesn't even know he has given. In her eyes he sees how utterly trapped they both are. Her heart holds nothing but compassion and forgiveness for his sins and he is suddenly confronted with the thought that perhaps, she is so much stronger than he could ever be.

The mission changes. This time, he swears on his life that he will protect her.

The war is ruthless.

It takes hostage of their souls and destruction is wrought on their hearts. It is only in each other that they remember who they once were before the violence took everything from them - a boy from the stars and a princess fashioned of the earth. Their mettle is tested in fire, in the clash of steel, and the roar of guns.

But they will not back down.


	2. Dreamer

**Disclaimer: **As usual, I own only this fic.

**Tracks: **_(for now, these are the tracks I most liked but they're subject to change.)__**  
**_Ready, Aim, Fire - Imagine Dragons  
Dreamer - Uh Huh Her  
All I Need - Mat Kearney  
Wings - Birdy  
I'm There Too - Michelle Featherstone  
Gravity - Sara Bareilles  
Radioactive - Imagine Dragons  
Make You Feel My Love - Emmet Cahill  
The Light - Sara Bareilles  
No, I Don't Remember - Anna Ternheim  
A Story of Us - Chris Lind  
Explosions - Ellie Goulding  
Never Let Me Go - Florence + The Machine

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**Dreamer**

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"I'll kill you," he breathes in her ear, and the initial dismay she felt over the invitation he ripped in front of her is replaced with shock.

He notices the widening of her eyes as if comprehending the true meaning of his words. Her pupils dilate, her breath hitches, and as her hair catches the breeze, a small part of him thinks that if it weren't for the war, she just might be the most beautiful girl he's ever seen.

The next time she shows up, he says it again.

"I'll kill you."

This time, he draws his gun.

The eyes that meet his show anything but fear.

She dares him to pull the trigger and her gaze remains unwavering as she stares down the barrel of the gun. Her dress somehow brings out a different shade of blue to her eyes that reminds him of the ocean - not at its most peaceful, but heralding the tempest.

For the first time, he understands that this is what drowning probably feels like. It shouldn't take so much strength to pull the trigger and shoot her, but the pull of her eyes - of her - is so much stronger that his heart pounds frantically.

He hesitates.

He should just look away from her. He should...

...but he doesn't.

The fabric of her dress is soaked with his blood, but he doesn't remember the pain of the bullet piercing him; only her hands, her scent, and the ocean in her eyes.

He warns her to stay away, because she could end up dead if she gets too close to him and his secrets. But somehow, as he looks at her and sees nothing but acceptance of all that he is and all that he is not, perhaps it's his heart that needs to be careful. Because she is his need personified.

So when she bows her head in acceptance of the hand fate has dealt her, he decides that maybe it's time to make his own fate.

He decides that it's time the princess had a knight to protect and serve her.


	3. All I Need

**Notes: **Angst warning.

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**All I Need**

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_Even now, he is utterly bewildered. No one in his short, miserable existence has ever displayed such genuine kindness towards someone like him. She urges him not to fight, not to throw his life away because she has nothing but hope for him that he will find his place in the world. People may have believed in his abilities as a soldier, but she believes in him as a human being._

_It is humbling and terrifying all at the same time and any ordinary man would crumble in the face of such lofty hopes. But not him. This is more than a mission, more than the Perfect Soldier persona that demands he fulfills her expectations. He realizes, that somewhere in his heart, he made that choice to protect her a long time ago._

_He doesn't dare give a name to the feelings she elicits in him, but he makes a promise to himself - as he gazes into her eyes - that he will survive this war at all costs._

_"Afterward, if you survive, there will finally be peace. This is the only thing I can do for you." he whispers. He reaffirms his sworn oath to protect her, to fight for her. And he asks her to let him fulfill that promise._

_"Trust me."_

_She tells him that she does. She probably doesn't even have to say it out loud because it's written all over her face._

_Maybe the world will burn, maybe the sky will rain with blood, maybe this generation will fall._

_Maybe in her eyes he will always be just a boy._

_But he is determined to become stronger than he is now to fight for her dreams; for a yet unseen future she wants to create. She will become the sole author in this new era and he will be all that he needs to be in that fight, so that when all battles have been won, he can return to her and they can stand together. Triumphant._

_The image of her is burned into his mind and from her smile, he draws strength to meet his rival in one last duel in order to make her dream of peace a reality._

_Maybe one day—_

"Somehow, I knew you'd be here."

Even without his training, Heero knew that there was only one person in the world that elicited a heightened awareness in him. He tore his gaze away from his view of the Sanq Kingdom, made a thousand times more spectacular at night with millions of lights glittering, to find Relena lingering at the doorway that led to the balcony where he had wandered off to for a moment of contemplation.

She was always the most beautiful girl he'd ever laid eyes on, and time had been nothing but generous to her. There was a quiet strength in her bearing now, making her look truly like a queen and not just a girl being forced to play dress up. Her eyes were the same intriguing color that always dared him to take a much closer look, to see for himself if it wasn't just a trick of the light that her eyes could be both so blue and then green. He had long towered over her, but even then, it was her presence that everybody felt when she entered the room and when she left it.

Reality had brought forth a level of maturity and intelligence that transformed her into a self-possessed leader who dealt with the pressures of politics and her life under constant threat without complaint. Her youth was no longer a hindrance to the sheer strength of will she had that awed even the most experienced politician.

In an ever-changing world, she was made larger than life by the people.

To Heero, she was the girl who had saved him, his anchor and true refuge.

Despite having seen her earlier when she first tried on the gown she was wearing, Heero had to remind himself to breathe as his eyes followed the graceful slope of her shoulders and the elegant outline of her body before his eyes met hers again. He held out his hand to her, silently beckoning her to his side.

Relena stepped closer to him, quietly linking their hands. "You didn't have to come, you know..."

She knew why.

The Eve Wars Ball always held a somber undertone for people like him, despite the festivities that decorated it. She pretended not to notice the way he isolated himself in the weeks leading up to the event, and she may have fooled other people, but Heero saw through the serene mask she wore for his sake.

"You worry too much," he whispered, drawing her body close to curve into his own. "I just needed some fresh air."

Relena hummed thoughtfully, deciding not to push the issue, no doubt. Heero could never thank her enough for what she gave him. Respect, trust, and such unshakable faith. It would take an entire lifetime to thank her, and he didn't think anything would ever be enough to let her know that he loved her above all else.

He had been working at it for fifteen years.

"I was just remembering you." Dark blue eyes met ocean blue and he gently followed the curve of her cheek with his fingertips down to rest below her jawline where her pulse beat. "All those years ago."

"I was too full of ideals."

"You were always so strong, even back then."

"I still disagree with you on that."

He sighed her name then, leaning in so that their foreheads touched. He let himself be surrounded by her scent, by her voice, her smile...

Her love...

Fifteen long years. Fifteen long years of loving her, and never letting himself dare to believe that she could feel so much for him, because he was undeserving of such a gift.

Her hands - so small and pale in his own, the only hands strong enough to hold him - framed his face, and she gently pressed her lips to his in a kiss that made his heart clench.

"Forgive yourself, Heero," Relena whispered into their kiss. "It's the only way you can move on."

And just like that, she was gone.

The ballroom was suddenly pitch black.

And all around him was silence.

Heero Yuy squeezed his eyes shut as the December breeze blew through the empty Peacecraft Mansion. Once again, he would fade into the shadows, carrying with him the most precious memory of the last kiss they ever shared before she was killed the very same night that had plunged the world into war. Before he had failed to protect her.

Too long. Far too long.

The safety had been turned off.

One bullet.

And a promise.

"I'll see you again, Relena."


End file.
